Simplest and understandable example of volatile keyword in Java

Question

I'm reading about volatile keyword in Java and completely understand the theory part of it.

But, what I'm searching for is, a good case example, which shows what would happen if variable wasn't volatile and if it were.

Below code snippet doesn't work as expected:

class Test extends Thread {

    boolean keepRunning = true;

    public void run() {
        while (keepRunning) {
        }

        System.out.println("Thread terminated.");
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
        Test t = new Test();
        t.start();
        Thread.sleep(1000);
        t.keepRunning = false;
        System.out.println("keepRunning set to false.");
    }
}

Ideally, if keepRunning wasn't volatile, thread should keep on running indefinitely. But, it does stop after few seconds.

I've got two basic questions:

• Can anyone explain volatile with example? Not with theory from JLS.
• Is volatile substitute for synchronization? Does it achieve atomicity?